Sanford To Use Home Discount To Lure Police

The Mayor Wanted More Officers To Live In Town, So He Offered A New Perk.

April 8, 2002|By Mike Berry, Sentinel Staff Writer

SANFORD -- Sanford wants to offer its cops a sweet deal that it hopes will coax them to live in the city, keep good officers on the force and give communities a greater sense of security even when police are off-duty.

City commissioners are expected to approve plans to pay 20 percent of the monthly mortgage for officers who live within city limits.

The deal is designed to entice officers who don't live here to make Sanford their home. Those who already own a house in the city also would receive the perk.

The mortgage incentive would benefit the city in several ways, said Mayor Brady Lessard, who brought up the idea after hearing about similar programs elsewhere in the country. City commissioners may vote on it as early as this month.

Sanford officers already are allowed to drive their patrol cars home. So their presence in town during off-duty hours should make neighbors feel safer, Lessard said. Plus, the officers will get to know the communities where they live, he said.

"It gives them [officers] an opportunity to know who's in town, who's out of town, what cars belong in certain places," he said.

For the very same reason, apartments have given officers free or reduced rent for the perceived security of patrol cars in their parking lots.

Another benefit of the mortgage incentive is to retain officers, Lessard said. Sanford's Police Department has a history of high turnover, though things have gotten better in recent years, Police Chief Brian Tooley said.

Three years ago, the department had 18 vacancies; today, there are two. Tooley attributes the improvement to higher salaries, financial incentives to attend college and other improvements.

About a dozen officers already own homes in the city and would benefit immediately from the incentive.

Claudia Webber, a school resource officer who has lived in the city's historic district for four years, said the move would save her $140 a month.

"I'm thrilled," Webber said. "I think it's a very progressive idea."

The Police Department has about 115 officers, and the program would be initially capped at 35 to control costs. While it would work on a first-come, first-serve basis, Lessard said, it probably would be years before the cap is reached. People don't make a decision to move easily, he said, and when they do it can take a long time to find a house.

For Sanford patrol officer Ted Butler, the program may be enough to persuade him and a fellow officer to move out of a rental in Orange County, he said.

What's more, he said, the 20 percent savings could make the difference in whether he and other cops can afford homes. Starting officers in Sanford earn $29,000 a year.

The program would clearly not appeal to everyone. Some police officers prefer not to live where they work, Webber said.

"They want their time off and private time to be just that," she said.

"I can't really go anywhere, the grocery store or a restaurant, without seeing people I know. But it doesn't bother me. I enjoy it," she said.

Assuming an average monthly mortgage payment of $750, the program would cost the city about $70,000 a year if 35 officers took advantage of it. Sanford can afford that because of savings from a hiring freeze after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Lessard said.

The program would apply only to the primary mortgage on a home.

Tooley said he is talking to city officials about an additional incentive -- perhaps 5 percent more -- if officers choose to live in poorer sections of the city.